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  • REPRESENTING 160,000 TELEVISION

  • AND FILM ACTORS WILL GO ON

  • STRIKE STARTING AT MIDNIGHT,

  • AFTER FOUR WEEKS OF FAILED

  • NEGOTIATIONS.

  • JEFFREY BROWN FINDS OUT WHAT'S

  • BEHIND THE DECISION AND HOW

  • HOLLYWOOD WILL BE AFFECTED.

  • IT'S PART OF OUR ARTS AND

  • CULTURE SERIES, CANVAS.

  • >> YOU SHARE THE WEALTH BECAUSE

  • YOU CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT US.

  • THANK YOU.

  • JEFFREY: THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME

  • THIS AFTERNOON.

  • THEY WILL OFFICIALLY STRIKE AT

  • MIDNIGHT TONIGHT ALREADY, ACTORS

  • ARE LEAVING SETS AND EVEN

  • PREMIERES.

  • AND MANY MORE WILL BE ON PICKET

  • LINES STARTING TOMORROW.

  • >> THE ENTIRE BUSINESS MODEL HAS

  • BEEN CHANGED BY STREAMING,

  • DIGITAL, AI.

  • THIS IS A MOMENT OF HISTORY, A

  • MOMENT OF TRUTH.

  • IF WE DON'T STAND TALL RIGHT NOW

  • , WE ARE ALL GOING TO BE IN

  • TROUBLE.

  • JEFFREY: AMONG THE UNRESOLVED

  • ISSUES, DEMANDS FOR HIGHER

  • WAGES.

  • THE INCREASE OF RESIDUALS AS

  • STREAMING SERVICES COMMAND MORE

  • OF THE MARKET AND NEW

  • PROTECTIONS FROM THE USE OF

  • ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

  • FOR ITS PART, THE ALLIANCE OF

  • MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION

  • PRODUCERS REPRESENTING

  • TRADITIONAL STUDIOS SUCH AS

  • UNIVERSAL, PARAMOUNT, AND

  • DISNEY, ALONG WITH NEWER TECH

  • GIANTS LIKE APPLE, NETFLIX, AND

  • AMAZON ABOUT BLAMED THE UNION

  • FOR WALKING AWAY FROM MAJOR

  • CONCESSIONS, SAYING IN A

  • STATEMENT THE UNION HAS

  • REGRETTABLY CHOSEN A PATH THAT

  • WILL LEAD TO FINANCIAL HARDSHIP

  • FOR COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF

  • PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON THE

  • INDUSTRY.

  • IN AN INTERVIEW THIS MORNING,

  • BOB IGER SAID THIS.

  • >> THERE'S A LEVEL OF

  • EXPECTATION THAT THEY HAVE THAT

  • IS JUST NOT REALISTIC.

  • THEY ARE ADDING TO THE SET OF

  • CHALLENGES THAT THIS BUSINESS IS

  • ALREADY FACING THAT IS QUITE

  • FRANKLY VERY DISRUPTIVE.

  • JEFFREY: THE MOVE ALL BUT GRINDS

  • HOLLYWOOD TO A HALT AS ACTORS

  • JOIN THE WRITING GUILD WHOSE

  • MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ON STRIKE

  • SINCE MAY OVER SIMILAR ISSUES.

  • THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BOTH

  • UNIONS HAVE BEEN ON STRIKE SINCE

  • 1960 WHEN ACTOR AND FUTURE

  • PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN HEADED

  • UP THE ACTORS GUILD.

  • A PERSON WHO COVERS THE INDUSTRY

  • FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES --

  • THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

  • -- ANOUSHA SAKOUI WHO COVERS THE

  • INDUSTRY FOR THE LOS ANGELES

  • TIMES.

  • I MENTIONED TO SOME OF THE

  • ISSUES AND WE WILL COME BACK TO

  • THAT BUT I AM STRUCK I HELD BOTH

  • SIDES SEEM TO BE FRAMING THIS IN

  • EXISTENTIAL TERMS.

  • ARE YOU HEARING IT THAT WAY?

  • ANOUSHA: FOR SURE.

  • LIKE YOU SAID IN THE PACKAGE,

  • THIS IS SIMILAR WITH THE DEBATE

  • WITH THE WRITERS, THAT THE

  • STUDIOS ARE SORT OF SAYING THAT,

  • YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE ISSUES OF

  • TERMS OF RESTRUCTURING.

  • WE WERE SEEING THE STUDIOS

  • LAYING OFF THOUSANDS OF

  • EMPLOYEES AND NOW, THERE HAS

  • BEEN THIS SHIFT IN THE STREAMING

  • MODEL WHERE THERE'S BEEN A

  • PULLBACK IN PRODUCTION AND MANY

  • STUDIOS ARE SEEKING COST SAVINGS

  • AND TRYING TO CUT BACK.

  • SO OBVIOUSLY, THAT DOES NOT

  • ALIGN WITH UNIONS WHO WANT TO

  • GET PAID MORE.

  • JEFFREY: AND WHAT ARE THE MAJOR

  • STICKING POINTS AT THIS POINT

  • THAT YOU SEE THAT LED TO THE

  • BREAKDOWN?

  • ANOUSHA: IT SEEMS THAT THERE WAS

  • A STICKING POINT AROUND

  • STREAMING RESIDUALS WHICH ARE

  • THE ROYALTIES PAID WHEN A TV OR

  • FILM IS REPLAYED.

  • IN THE ACTORS WANTED A SORT OF

  • SHARE OF REVENUE LINKED TO THE

  • MOST SUCCESSFUL SHOWS AND THAT

  • SEEMED TO BE A BIG NO FOR THE

  • STUDIOS.

  • THEY ALSO WANTED GREATER

  • PROTECTIONS AROUND ARTIFICIAL

  • INTELLIGENCE THAN THE STUDIOS

  • SEEM TO BE OFFERING THEM AND

  • THEY ALSO WANTED BIG INCREASES

  • IN WAGES TO COUNTER THE IMPACT

  • OF INFLATION AND OBVIOUSLY, THE

  • TWO SIDES WERE NOT ABLE TO COME

  • TO AGREEMENT ON THOSE NUMBERS.

  • JEFFREY: WHAT ABOUT THE RESPONSE

  • FROM THE INDUSTRY? THEY PUT OUT

  • A LIST OF 14 PROPOSALS THAT THEY

  • SAID THEY HAD PUT ON THE TABLE

  • IN RESPONSE TO THE UNION.

  • YOU SAW BOB IGER'S COMMENTS

  • TODAY.

  • WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM THE

  • INDUSTRY?

  • ANOUSHA: YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN

  • YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU HAVE TO LOOK

  • AT THE FINER DETAILS.

  • IT'S NOT THAT EASY A THING TO

  • SORT OF COMPARE ONE VERSION OF A

  • PROPOSAL AND WHAT THE ACTORS ARE

  • SAYING.

  • YOU KNOW, YOU SORT OF GET TWO

  • VERSIONS OF THE SAME STORY.

  • I THINK A LOT OF THE TIME, IT

  • IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING INTO THE

  • FINER DETAILS OF THE OFFERORS,

  • AND YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THERE TO

  • SAY EXCEPT THAT THERE'S GOING TO

  • BE A STRIKE THIS WEEKEND?

  • PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ACROSS

  • THE INDUSTRY ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS

  • FOR LIVELIHOODS, NOT JUST OF

  • ACTORS AND WRITERS WHO ARE ON

  • STRIKE BUT ALL THE OTHER WORKERS

  • WHO THE CRAFTSPEOPLE,

  • HAIRDRESSERS, MAKEUP ARTISTS,

  • COSTUMERS, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

  • THAT WORK ON FILM AND TV THAT

  • WILL HAVE THEIR WORK STOPPED AND

  • THEIR PAY STOPPED.

  • AND ALSO THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE

  • DEPENDENT ON FILM AND TV ACROSS,

  • YOU KNOW, MANY BIG FILMING HUBS

  • ACROSS THE U.S.

  • IT'S NOT JUST SOUTHERN

  • CALIFORNIA AND LOS ANGELES BUT

  • NEW YORK, NEW MEXICO ABOUT,

  • GEORGIA HAVE -- MEXICO, GEORGIA

  • HAVE HUGE FILM INDUSTRIES.

  • JEFFREY: TELL US A LITTLE BIT

  • MORE ABOUT THAT.

  • THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THIS THAT

  • GOES BEYOND THE UNION WORKERS,

  • GOES BEYOND THE STUDIOS, GOES

  • BEYOND THE HOLLYWOOD INDUSTRY TO

  • L.A. AND BEYOND, AS YOU WERE

  • SAYING.

  • HOW BIG AN IMPACT WILL IT HAVE?

  • ANOUSHA: THE ONE THING THAT THE

  • SAG AFTRA STRIKE WILL DO IS THAT

  • IT WILL STRETCH THE REACH OF

  • THESE